


Young Enough To Try

by timelesschaos



Category: Sonic Forces - Fandom, Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Hiatus, Updating whenever possible!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25515241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timelesschaos/pseuds/timelesschaos
Summary: After every battle, there are injuries to tend, and for the various teams that came together to defeat Robotnik and Infinite's plans for destruction, their tending has only just started. With both of the aforementioned adversaries missing from the fray, Sonic and company are rebuilding and recovering one day at a time, whatever that may take.Brief Summary: Post Sonic Forces w/ tweaked canon details, concise information to come. Will add character tags as the characters become relevant, so to not clog the tags when they only have a small part.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	1. Nights Have Grown So Long

**Author's Note:**

> Writing within the Sonic Forces canon+the games that are included ( as far as I'm aware, haha ) with bits of things reworked or changed for consistency, realism, and my own preferences. Sonic's six months of torture will be followed up on, Infinite has a more legitimate backstory, and after meticulous consideration, I do want the characters to be a few years old- five years to be precise- which is being updated in the info doc. DO NOT SEXUALIZE THE CHARACTERS. The in game Avatar will be featured in this work, and she is my own. 
> 
> For all of the changed or relevant non canon information, I wrote up [an informative doc.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tmL3rynF2aw4wFfw4dYZiGxWUHzT0zT6acPg_B__J2s/edit?usp=sharing) Thanks for reading!

The weeks following the end of the Resistance, or rather the end of the  _ need _ for the Resistance, were fairly easy. A lot of clean up, putting leftover Egg Bots to use, tending to those wounded, and so on. Sonic kept himself busy with just about anything he could, though that ranged from running off to find things  _ outside _ of clean up to do, to helping his friends with rebuilding their world. Even then, with the newest recruit, fondly but previously known as their rookie, Fera, he was rarely ever alone. The wolf was a few years older than him, but despite her shy and withdrawn nature, Sonic enjoyed her company and felt she kept up with him on many different fronts.

Sometimes Sonic wondered if Fera knew he needed someone to stay with him or if she just happened to be there at the right time.

Between recon, recovering, and rebuilding, the speedy hedgehog always had something to do and was always with someone else. A day came though, when having company didn’t work the way he wanted it to. What typically happened, was Sonic went down the list of his friends and allies looking for things to do that contributed, as long as he wasn’t alone while doing them. He even started a sort of literal list to help keep everything in order, and to keep track of it all.

He would go place to place with Knuckles and a couple of squads, helping with odd construction or helping citizens, or with Amy for some of the same—but most of the time the two of them worked from headquarters to either direct and redirect, or tidy up the base. The tidying however, only took a couple weeks worth of the work, and it left Sonic with no  _ real _ reason to be around Amy for work anymore. When those two were busy, Sonic helped Tails with assorted tech- including a means to communicate with their friends scattered across times and worlds- and the reconfiguring of bots. That was the more specific version of his list- from there, it bounced between whichever member of the Resistance that talked to him next, or that he bumped into.

Aside from trying to keep his particular routine, he found over the next few weeks that that was the order of the people least to most likely to bring up the six months he was gone. On the off chance any of them did, it was usually easy to redirect the conversation or get himself out of it entirely. Nothing that happened were things he wanted to talk about, and the nauseous sensation in his gut made it even less appealing.

Sonic had slept in the computer room the night before—a typical occurrence— and near immediately moved to the communications console as soon as he was awake enough to function. He tapped a few keys and opened a line to Knuckles communicator, an automatic relief setting in when the echidna answered immediately. With the computer’s camera activated, Sonic waved and grinned.

“Hey, Sonic, you look like you just woke up!” Knuckles laughed, grinning down at his pocket comm.

“You know how I am,” Sonic responded, managing a small laugh as well. “But hey, you guys are out early! S’that Captain Hawk I see behind you?”

Knuckles cast a quick glance back and then nodded as he turned his focus back to his blue friend. “We’re out in Green Hill, at the Arsenal Pyramid, me, Snake, and Eagle squad. Just a group of bots, but we handled—”

“I’ll be over there in a flash!” Sonic interrupted, preparing to end the call before Knuckles cut him off as well.

“I said we handled it,” the echidna finished, giving Sonic a look before shaking his head, a bit of amusement in his face. “We’re actually on the way back. I’m sure you can find something else to do though! I’ll talk to you later, Sonic, I gotta scoot!”

The line disconnected before Sonic had time to be upset or respond, so he stood there momentarily, staring at the empty screen as his palms inside his gloves started to sweat. He didn’t wait long, however, quickly contacting Amy’s communicator and getting her face up on the screen within only moments. The pink hedgehog paused for a second before recognition lit up her eyes, followed closely by a delighted smile down at her handheld device.

“Sonic!” she greeted excitedly. “You never call this early! What’s up!!”

Sonic grinned right back at her, throwing his hands up in the air. “Heya, Amy, I figured I’d call ya and see if you wanted to hang out, or if there was anything to do! Need me for something? I’m going nuts over here bored!”

The girl’s face faltered, and it brought a tickling sensation of discouragement into Sonic’s chest. “Oh! Well, I, um… I uh—”

“Who’s calling you, darling?” interrupted a familiar voice, the sound preceding Rouge’s face coming into view, peeking over Amy’s shoulder before she gasped and reached forward to take the communicator into her own hands. The bat lifted the comm out away from their faces, the act of putting her arm around Amy’s shoulder visible. “Sonic, how are you hon? You’re up early!”

The same comment brought a bit of a confused blink to Sonic’s face, but he recovered quickly, continuing, “Rouge, hey! What’re you guys into?”

Rouge laughed, squeezing Amy closer. “On a special date! Amy’s our honorary third wheel!”

A moment of quiet followed the answer, confusion returning to Sonic as he went over who Rouge meant. “Third wheel?” he echoed, brows furrowing.

“Yes, hon, Fera and I,” she said with a small chuckle. “We ladies need a day out every now and again after all!”

“ _ But _ ,” Amy cut in, giving Rouge a side eye, “we’re also… kind of trying to keep an eye on things over here. We heard a couple claims that some possible Eggman supporters were over here. It’s been clear so far, but we can never be too careful.”

Sonic’s eyes widened. “Oh, yikes! Can’t believe anyone would ever want to support that guy. He’s not just a major jerk, he also pretty rude. Can you imagine trying to have a friendship with him? Whew!”

Amy smiled, wrinkling her nose up at the other hedgehog. “You’re too much, Sonic,” she says with a giggle. “But, um, hey, so…”

Sonic was preparing for it since Rouge appeared on the screen, but with Amy’s quieter,  _ very much unlike her _ voice, the feeling hit him. His heart started to beat a bit faster- two strikes, technically three counting Fera, and he still had no one to go actively be around.

“I bet Tails would like to see you!” the girl said, smiling, but it was a pitiful smile. “He was- he mentioned earlier this morning he missed you. Just one of those days, ya know? Maybe you guys can go hang out, cheer each other up!”

A knot formed in Sonic’s chest, constricting the sped up beat of his heart that was like a drum in his ears. “Yeah, I— yeah, definitely! Don’t sweat it, Ames! I’ll see you later, yeah?”

She forced another smile, echoing the sentiment before Sonic cut the line from his device to hers. A moment passed with the hedgehog standing nearly frozen, eyes unfocused as he stared at the notification on the screen.

_ * Call Terminated, 09:12 AM . Redial ? _

Sonic’s fingers curled into fists as his stomach churned. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes- if he went to see Tails, he would either break or  _ Tails _ would. Something about the guilt of already having been taken and leaving Tails to his own sorrow, only made the notion of seeing his younger friend even more repulsive. Yesterday had left him exhausted, the night consisted of little sleep and far too much tossing, turning, and stressing; seeing Tails, or maybe seeing  _ anyone _ , would just be a bad idea, a ticking time bomb.

Thoughts of that kind swirled through Sonic’s head until he snapped out of his frozen state, lifting a hand to try someone else- maybe someone else would be fine- only to drop his hand again. Sonic took several deep breaths as the feeling that air was escaping him altogether hit him like a freight train, vision swimming. He turned suddenly and took off, shifting into top speed in seconds to get out of the empty headquarters building, leaving a trail of smoking metal behind him. As his feet crossed the natural earth, a trail of blue energy spilling out behind him, he felt as if he could run forever.

That forever, though, last fifteen minutes, before he finally stopped inside the boundaries of the Mystic Jungle, not realizing until he looked around exactly what familiar area he was in. He didn’t pay that part much attention, instead checking to ensure he was truly alone, his heart running faster than his feet ever had, it felt like. His senses all still askew, he decided he was indeed alone, and all at once collapsed to the ground, curling into himself with his arms tight around his shaking legs and his knees to his chest.

He stared aimlessly ahead, shallow after shallow breath leaving his frame as flashes of the Death Egg cell hit him full force, pain, fear, and hopelessness returning to the hole the three had left in his chest as his panic attack set in.


	2. Beg For Sound Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team scrambles together to find Sonic when they realize no one has seen him. Fearing the worst, tensions are high in a snap second as they mobilize every person able to look.
> 
> Posted a little early since word count's so big. I almost split the two, but here we are. See you guys next week!

A few hours passed before everyone seemed to collectively notice Sonic’s absence. The realization hit all at once, and brought the team near simultaneously into the main room of operations with the same question.

“Where’s Sonic?” Tails voiced the thought. “He doesn’t have his remote communicator.”

“He called me earlier,” Amy said, looking to Fera. “He seemed disappointed he couldn’t hang out with us.”

“He has liked our company these last few weeks,” Rouge mused. “Maybe he just wanted to be  _ one of the girls _ today.”

Knuckles pulled his remote communicator from a pouch at his side, pressing a few buttons and earning a few beeps before frowning. “He called me, too, wanted to come help out at Green Hill. All right, Amy- was it before or after nine sharp this morning?”

“It was after,” Amy replied nervously, glancing to Rouge for quick confirmation. “I was really surprised how early it was, honestly.”

It was the young yellow fox’s turn to frown as his pair of identical tails swished about behind him. He looked to Fera to see she was already lifting her hands to start signing.

“Anyone talk to Shadow or the Chaotix? Or even Silver?” she asked, looking between everyone’s carefully watching eyes.

“She asked if we asked everyone else,” Amy explained to Knuckles quietly, silently mimicking a few of the signs.

“Oh, shoot, I’ll do that!” Tails rushed out, turning to focus on the console. He half listened to his friends behind him have a quick exchange about signing, then successfully contacted Espio’s pocket comm. The young fox looked up to the screen to find the chameleon nod in greeting.

“I can’t help but notice the entire senior staff is here,” Espio remarked, scoffing softly. “What’s the occasion, my friends?”

“We were checking if Sonic had talked to you, Espio,” Tails answered, hopefully inspecting every inch of what was visible behind the Chaotix member. “We haven’t seen or heard from him since this morning, an-and he doesn’t have his pocket comm.”

Espio paused, blinking. “He’s missing?”

All Tails could offer was a half hearted shrug. It was followed by a second but longer pause from the Mobian on the other line, then Espio glanced off camera. Part of his hand became visible for just a moment as he reached toward the comm and apparently muted his own side of the conversation, mouth moving to speak to someone not within the limit of the camera.

“Who reads lips?” Rouge whispers, slowly drawing her remote comm from her pocket. Fera snapped her fingers as a subtle way to answer while the bat tapped buttons on her device near fervently.

Espio unmuted his conversation after about a minute and focused again on Tails, eyes narrowed slightly with a deeper frown on his face. “We’re looking into it. We’ll contact you if we have anything.”

The words were punctuated by Espio hanging up, his face flashing and disappearing from the screen. An uncomfortable pause ensued as an even  _ more _ uncomfortable anxiety formed in the pit of everyone’s stomach.

“Rookie?” Knuckles spoke up, a hint of endearment in his tone, despite the stress cushioning it.

A quick sign, something Knuckles could already  _ guess _ from the slow movement and the expression on her face. All Tails needed to do to confirm was speak, the fox’s ears drooping, “She— E-Espio was saying to investigate reports about a, a blue blur racing through the city earlier today.”

Despite the growing disappointment, Amy piped up, “But that means people saw him! We just need to set a system wide alert to be looking for Sonic then! Or something, I don’t— Rouge, who are you calling?”

“It’s Shadow,” Rouge replied quickly, glancing to the pink hedgehog as she made her way to the console before Tails could. “If he doesn’t know…”

Amy ignored the added comment, and after several taps, the large screen overhead blinked and displayed the world map. Amy’s work was performed while the rest watched Rouge with held breath; another few keystrokes and Amy had every active unit’s comm link neatly organized on the left side of the screen.

Amy turned to the rest of her friends with a hopeful smile on her face and found that, in that short moment, Rouge had gotten an answer, it seemed. The bat looked to Amy with a shift in expression, more distressed.

“He hasn’t seen or heard from Sonic all day.”

The words weighed heavier on the group, but Amy only let it hold her still for a brief moment. Without a word beforehand, the hedgehog grabbed and practically dragged Knuckles towards the open doorway, shouting back explanations afterwards.

“I’m taking Knuckles, we’ll look back at Green Hill,” she babbled out, finally releasing the echidna’s hand and stopping to look back at the others. “Rouge, there’s still some units in the city, so you take Park Venue. I’ll radio the Chaotix on our way over to check Sunset Heights, and Fera, you stay with Tails and watch for any updates here!”

Amy then took off, leaving Knuckles to scramble after her with one more call back to the others, “Make sure you’re broadcasting to all channels and Fera, call the teams at Ghost Town!”

“I’ll keep Shadow in the loop,” Rouge offered as well, nodding to her friends as her wings picked her up off the floor. “

As everyone left to hurry to their individual tasks, Tails hurriedly waved Fera over to the console where he had assumed Amy’s spot there. “Okay, we just need to set up a broad radio signal- I can have one reach every person wearing a comm!”

The pair of them worked quickly and successfully, the rapid clicking of buttons and keys practically echoing in the operations room. With the room empty otherwise, the older Mobian glanced to her companion, seeing his golden ears flat, tails drooping and dragging in the floor as he worked. She heaved a quiet but deep sigh, though it did little to lighten the feeling that air was simply trapped in her lungs.

“This is Tails, contacting every member of the Resistance! Sonic is  _ missing _ ! He was last known to be in headquarters around nine-fifteen this morning.” Despite the snag in his throat, Tails continued, “If anyone knows his whereabouts, contact me right away!”

After the message was broadcast, Tails went right back to typing and setting the newly recorded audio clip to repeat across all channels with only a few seconds in between each replay of the message. Fera set to pulling up every notification received, the text notices displaying on one side of the screen with the voice inbox on the other. Promptly after it was set, several of both types came through.

_ * He ran past here at 9:20, right through Green Hill! _

_ “We saw a streak of blue go past the distance at the Arsenal Pyramid, maybe nine-thirty this morning?” _

_ * Definitely saw Sonic blasting past the Guardian Rock over here, don’t remember what time. _

With all of the various reports, Fera and Tails as quickly as they could, sorted through each and every one and input the presumed route until the computer could come up with what would be an accurate path. It took a bit longer than either of them would have liked, but it was handled without pause nonetheless. What didn’t make was discarded, and in the end, the pair of them were left with three possible routes, and by extension, destinations.

Tails adjusted the group wide broadcast with all relevant and known information, taking a deep breath before looking to the wolf at his side. It was only then that Fera noticed the young fox had tears in his eyes, waiting to drop at any moment. She had to refrain from moving forward to offer the boy a hug.

“Th-there’s only a cou-couple places he could be,” Tails stuttered out, his voice quivering and his hands coming together for his fingers to intertwine. “L-Luminous and Casino Forest, o-or the Capital City in Metropolis. Th-they’re what makes the most sense.”

Fera nodded, pausing a moment before reaching out to ruffle the fur atop the fox’s head. Tails gave a tearful laughter at the gesture, reaching up to wipe his eyes. He shared a look with Fera before nodding firmly, turning back to the console and opening a direct line to both Knuckles and Amy.

“Guys, there’s a n-new lead,” the fox informed them, tapping several keys, “I’m sending a Trans Po Bot your way to get you guys to the Capital City.” He switched channels to Rouge and the units he knew to be in her assigned sector, “Rouge, head to the Casino Forest. We’ll arrange backup to meet you there!”

While he did that, Fera got her communicator out and sent quick SOS texts to the Chaotix team- * _ Check the Casino Forest. We’re sending backup. _ She looked over as Tails pinged Shadow, bringing the dark quilled hedgehog’s face onto the screen as their cameras activated.

“Shadow, we have a lead, head to the Luminous Forest,” Tails said, his voice clearer than ever, albeit shaking the same. “I’ll coordinate more teams to search other sectors of it. It’s one of three leads- if you can’t find him there, move to the Casino Forest!”

Shadow nodded. “Doesn’t he have a remote beacon on his person? A watch or something? Can’t you find him that way?”

Tails’ eyes widened. Fera could feel herself visibly jump when she heard the child next to her  _ swear _ , moving quickly without an answer to furiously perform the aforementioned task. The screen divided into two, one side still showing Shadow’s full image as he raced across the Lost Valley toward his goal. The other half showed the task at hand, a full image of the globe with markers dotting it all and a white cursor moving around at Tails’ control.

Another few keys typed in, Fera watching as the fox accessed said emergency beacon and spawned multiple expanding waves across the map. One particular wave rippled out from the Mystic Jungle before sending a chirp through the speakers, locking in and highlighting the area and earning a cry from Tails and another frantic hitting of several keys.

A moment passed as a blue cursor moved over the Mystic Jungle, darting from location to location before suddenly blinking away. Fera held her breath as it did the same thing one more time, before a red banner popped up across the screen.

_** TASK SEQUENCE FAILED. **_ _[TRY AGAIN]_ _[CANCEL]_

Tails’ frame sagged. The child’s words a whisper, he spoke, “Shadow, I c-can’t… I can’t get it.”

“What do you mean?” the hedgehog on the other end asked, “As in it-it’s broken, or turned off or what?”

“As in he declined to give me his location!” Tails practically wailed as he restarted the process, tears stinging his eyes once more, renewed. “Shadow, he- He’s not- He’s g-gone!”

“Don’t panic, Miles!” Shadow hissed, glancing down to his device to give the fox a hard look. “Keep trying his locator. I’m already in Luminous.”

Tails lifted his hands to cover his mouth, muffling a sob as Shadow disconnected from their call. “He’s— that means he’s- someone  _ has _ him, o-or he’s— he wouldn’t be  _ hiding _ , why is he…  _ Why _ ?”

Fera hesitated, watching the child beside her for a moment, unsure. She shifted after all, however, and closed the small space between herself and Tails, lifting a hand to touch his shoulder. He made indication that he noticed or cared, seeming to disregard the contact as he cried into his palms with shaking shoulders. Fera could only watch for a short second before turning her attention to the looming computer screen.

She could only watch as it locked onto the Jungle, searched each location, and then brought the red banner back onto the screen again.


	3. Let The Brokenness Be Felt...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While his other allies search for their missing friend, Shadow scours the jungle biome until he comes across a familiar place, and a not so familiar sight. As he tries to help Sonic to get home, he makes a horrifying revelation.
> 
> Another big one! Next chapter will touch on some doctor stuff, and some aftermath related subjects. See you guys in a week!

Shadow raced through every path he thought had fresh speed marks, tracking and tracing every possible lead he could come up with to find his friend. After the HQ broadcast was little more than a drone in his ears, concern turned to annoyance, then frustration; thoughts sped with red hot anger in his head finally exploding out him in a loud enraged shout. He skidded to a stop, chest heaving as his fists clenched at his sides.

He breathed a moment, then exhaled his tension before looking around his surroundings: a small clearing with thick trunked trees closing it in. Several large bright red flowers grew around, with more buds blooming close to the fully opened petals. He paused a moment to take it all in, then his gaze stopped on a particular thick branch that he quickly leapt to to stand on. He took a wider look around, leading him to realize for sure that it was the area he and Sonic had first fought- one of the first few times they had  _ met _ . Every feeling from before overwhelmed him for seconds that felt like hours as he took that fact in.

“You foolish hedgehog,” Shadow whispered under his breath. He nearly took off to continue searching once again, only for a sound to reach his ears, a sound that didn’t belong in the natural sounds of the jungle around him.

The dark quilled hedgehog waited, listening, eyes wide and searching. It was only a moment before he gasped and then vaulted off his perch, rushing towards the unmistakable sound off crying. The very noise rattled Shadow all the way through with no sign of letting up, and he easily found the source; with it, a deep chill.

Sonic was sat in the fetal position, face buried in his knees. From several feet away, Sonic was visibly shaking, quickly rocking back and forth as he cried. Shadow found the more appropriate word to be  _ wailing _ . He only froze for a moment, watching in shock, until he was snapped right back out of it. He dashed forward to his friend’s trembling frame, crouching at his side and moving his hands out to brace Sonic’s back, only to freeze again.

“Sonic, are you—?”

The blue hedgehog flinched so sharply that his quills jerked back and nearly pricked through Shadow’s gloves. Shadow himself nearly jumped away but resisted the urge, moving closer while keeping his hands open and ready.

“Hey, what is- Sonic, what’s wrong with you?” he asked, his own voice shaking.

All Sonic uttered in response was a groan of distress, trying very weakly to pull himself away from Shadow altogether, not saying a word the whole time. The curled hedgehog made no sign of opening up, and Shadow’s confusion only grew steeper.

“All right, let’s just- I’m going to pick you up,” he explained, slowly moving to put his hands under Sonic’s closest shoulder and the other on his farthest hip. “Are you ready?”

Sonic did not respond other than another flinch. His body tense, Shadow hoped he was prepared for anything Sonic might do because of him. With that, he started to stand and bring the distressed hedgehog with him at the same time. Thankfully, he was indeed prepared for exactly what happened: Sonic jerked away, shouting incoherently with every movement.

“No, hey— Sonic,  _ stop!! _ ” The black quilled hedgehog immediately struggled, trying to keep his friend still without making his grip too tight, as well as not letting him fall back to the ground.

“ _ Don’t touch me! _ ” Sonic all but screamed, swinging his arms before starting to kick his legs. “Let me- let me  _ go! _ ”

Heart racing in his chest, Shadow resigned to letting his grip slip, trying to let Sonic fall gently back to the ground, only to watch with a pang of guilt as Sonic hit the dirt with a groan. The dark quilled hedgehog paused, only observing with tension in his body as Sonic returned to the same position as before, curling into himself, eyes shut as his frame rocked slightly.

“Sonic, what is going on with you?” Shadow repeated, his voice quiet but never lacking in horror at what he was seeing.

As if to answer, Sonic choked back a sob, shaking his head. The sight was more nightmarish with every passing moment; Shadow knew how to handle his own breakdowns, and had learned to help Rouge with hers. It wasn’t uncommon ground for  _ them _ , but it was an entirely different level of unbelievable for Sonic of all people.

With a deep breath, Shadow tried again.

“Hey,” he said quietly, lowering himself to the grassy jungle floor in front of Sonic. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m— I’m your friend. Sonic, do you- do you  _ understand _ that?”

Sonic trembled still, hands tight around his legs to keep them pulled close. Face still buried and hidden, he only answered with a shudder. Shadow frowned deeply but scooted closer, his heart not slowing down, in fact feeling as though it was only beating harder. The whole situation had started to make sense, and today was the final straw; Sonic hadn’t been himself recently but it was subtle enough for Shadow to miss. Maybe it was enough for  _ everyone _ to miss.

“You’re not on the Death Egg,” Shadow spoke gently and clearly. “You’re in the Mystic Jungle.  _ We’re _ in the Mystic Jungle. Did you recognize where when you got here?”

Aside from tremulous breathing, Sonic did not answer. Shadow took it as an opportunity to shift to sit at Sonic’s side. The other hedgehog didn’t seem to notice or care, though Shadow hoped it was the latter.

“We were here a long time ago, before the Resistance,” he continued on, watching for any change. “Before this war, before the Phantom Ruby, before Infinite. Do you remember?”

Relief was not powerful enough of a word to describe how Shadow felt when, after a few more dread filled seconds, Sonic sniffled and nodded his head. Shadow could feel himself practically scrambling mentally to find more things that would get real responses from his friend.

“Th-that was when I had been woken up,” he pressed on. “That feels an entire lifetime ago, huh?”

Another small nod and Shadow’s confidence grew. He shifted close enough that he could embrace Sonic with ease, glancing to the device on Sonic’s wrist that pinged softly. The bright pixelated words  _ REQUESTING LOCATION _ blinked across the screen, and Shadow steeled himself to not try to reach for it yet.

“We fought the Biolizard together, and it was hard, but we did it, all of us.” At that point, his voice had softened, nearly a whisper as he spoke. “Even though we had all been enemies before, you and I had been rivals. We still worked together and we took it down.”

Sonic sniffled again, his breaths very slowly becoming calmer, but becoming calmer nonetheless. The entire process, the entirety of making progress was that gradual pace, but Shadow could not have cared less.

“It was hard, and we- we almost lost.” It was a moment of split second speech, decisions made in that moment that became words. Sonic seemed to flinch at the recounting, but Shadow quickly moved past it, “ _ But _ \- but we won. We were all right. Even I was. At the end of it all, I was alive and breathing, and so were you. You’re alive, Sonic. You’re safe.”

The blue hedgehog suddenly snapped his attention up, finding Shadow’s face and revealing the heavy tears built up in the emerald green eyes. Shadow froze, watching for anything, expecting the worst, feeling as if he was suspending in time for seconds that lasted far longer than he liked.

“Sh-Shadow,” the young hedgehog breathed, his own body completely still other than his shaking.

“Yes, I’m here, i-it’s me,” Shadow practically babbled out, nearly unable to keep his eagerness curbed. “It’s me. We’re in the jungle, just you and me, safe,  _ not _ hurt. Not captured. Not in the Death Egg.”

Sonic’s glassy blue eyes seemed clear, like realization dawning as an illusion was wiped away. There was a frighteningly tense moment of silence, then the panicking hedgehog’s face twisted into anguish. Shadow fully expected another meltdown and more crying, only for Sonic to practically lunge forward and sink into his friend’s chest. Though he still shook and breathed unevenly in Shadow’s gradually closing embrace, he was not tucked into a ball or wailing. That alone was enough to bring more relief to Shadow’s mind.

The dark hedgehog slowly tightened his arms around his friend, squeezing him closely as the comfort washed through his body. It apparently had a positive impact for Sonic, bringing him more and more to relaxing as he melted into the warm and much needed embrace.

“We’re gonna get a ride to HQ,” Shadow mumbled gently, reaching across the tangle of arms to access Sonic’s wrist device. As he let their location be sent to Tails’ computer, he continued, “Can you walk? We need to get up.”

“Ju-just stay with me,” Sonic managed, eyes fluttering shut. “Give me a s-second.”

Despite instinct telling him  _ not _ to, Sonic’s request was heeded. Shadow only spared another quick look at the locator beacon, nodding to himself that the signal had been sent and was being followed immediately. He exhaled a deep breath, fixing his arms around Sonic before holding him closer. His heart beat slowed with every minute as Sonic stayed practically slumped against him, hoping that a calmer drumming from him would serve to soothe Sonic as his ears rested against his chest.

“You never worked through the abduction, did you?” Shadow asked in a low whisper. The lack of response answered the question. “Sonic....”

“It never— there was never a good t-time,” Sonic mumbled. Despite how badly off he still seemed, as far as Shadow could tell, the other hedgehog was aware and not brain deep in panicked flashbacks.

“We have all the time in the world now,” Shadow said. “We can start from there.”

A pause, which eventually shifted into an indefinite, but comfortable quiet. Shadow simply held Sonic, the two sitting in the jungle floor until a new sound was heard. An approaching air craft, a definitive whirring and engine running, a combination of noise that snapped the pair of them to attention. Sonic’s body tensed, and Shadow held him tighter.

“It’s just our friends,” he assured. “They’re here to take us home.”

Sonic deflated, the fear leaving his body. “They’re...they’re gonna be real upset with me,” the hedgehog muttered, eyes drifting up to his friend.

“Oh, absolutely,” Shadow confirmed with ease, working to a stand at that moment. He brought Sonic’s frame up with him, stabilizing him despite his trembling. “In fact, I’m possibly the  _ most _ upset with you.”

Sonic couldn’t get out so much as a confused noise before Shadow spoke again, his eyes lazily focused on the Trans-Po-Bot lowering itself through the tree tops, “As soon as you’re well enough, we’re going to have a  _ long _ talk. Don’t think I didn’t—” He paused, stopping himself before taking a deep breath. His voice softened as he finished, “Let’s just get you feeling better first.”

The blue hedgehog stared at Shadow as the vehicle landed in a rush of air that sent leaves and assorted loose bits of the jungle flying. With the engine still running, the Sonic shifted his gaze and they watched the cockpit area for their friends to emerge. Their eyes snapped suddenly to the cargo area, watching as the door opened slowly with a mechanical whirring. Afterward, the cockpit cover flew open and none other than the inventor of the device practically launched himself out of the pilot’s seat.

Tails rushed forward to his friends, shouting their names before throwing himself into Sonic’s arms. He buried his face in Sonic’s chest, arms tightening around the hedgehog as tears ran down his furry face.

“You’re okay!” Tails wailed, only holding tighter when he felt Sonic’s hand land on his shoulder. “I thought- I thought—!!”

“Hey, hey,” Sonic cut him off, his voice gentle and shockingly calmer than it had been moments before, “I’m here, buddy, and I’m not going anywhere else. Ya know?”

Shadow focused his eyes on Sonic’s softened eyes, giving them a moment to enjoy their embrace before he gently stirred them and nodded to the bot. Tails sniffled, reaching up to wipe his face as he stepped away from Sonic, nodding.

“Sha-Shadow’s right, let’s ge-get back home.”

The young fox’s words are punctuated by a nod from his hedgehog friends, after which he practically ran back to the cockpit, climbing in. He watched until his friends had successfully loaded into the cargo compartment, settling down in his pilot seat and closing both of the doors. As he pulled the headset onto his head and flipped a few switches, he activated the monitor from the disconnected cargo compartment, finding his friends on the screen.

“Are you two ready to fly?” he asked, doing a quick check of the instruments.

“ _ Ready _ ,” Shadow’s voice came back through the camera’s microphone.

With that, Tails brought the aircraft up, getting it airborne before setting a course for the city and the location of their base. The young fox couldn’t bring himself to stop glancing at the little camera, reassuring himself that Sonic wasn’t going to disappear again.


	4. ...Til You Reach The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sonic's struggles out in the open for all of his friends to see, he can no longer deny that he needs help that can't come from ignoring what happened during the war they had fought. Shadow and Knuckles stay with him as he takes on this new journey- the one that comes after the fighting is done.
> 
> Almost thought this chapter would be late! Thanks for the views and kudos you guys, and as many creators do, I love comments and to talk to my readers! Let me know how you're feeling about the story so far. Thanks, much love <3

The most their base was equipped to handle was battlefield injuries, with a bare medical bay area to hold people with said injuries. Despite that, they made a quick stop at their headquarters to pick up anything that seemed relevant- medical files for Sonic, hospital card, and so on. Before the vehicle took off again, the ever watchful Knuckles hurried over to the cargo compartment, smacking the door to signal Tails, who then opened it. As the red echidna looked into the compartment his entire figure seemed to deflate.

“You’re okay!” he cried, stepping inside to get a better look at his friend, violet eyes wide and looking the blue hedgehog over.

“I really am,” Sonic replied, his voice seeming more insistent as he looked to Shadow. “I swear, we don’t have to take me to the hospital, I’ll be okay, it was just—”

“Just a full blown mental snap that had you hiding from your friends because you need  _ help _ ?” Shadow cut him off, eyes pointedly glancing at Knuckles. “You need to go to the hospital. Knuckles, agree with me.”

Knuckles only fumbled for a moment, nodding his head before looking up to wave at the camera and at Tails. As if to reply, the cargo door slowly whirred shut, leaving the trio inside. Knuckles sat himself down across from his friends, unable to stop frantically looking over Sonic, visibly waiting for something to happen.

“It’s to make sure you’re okay, Sonic,” Knuckles spoke, brows furrowing when Sonic began intentionally averting his eyes. “And hey, if you’re right and you  _ are _ fine, all that’s happened is you spent a little time getting a check up.”

Sonic still frowned, letting a deep sigh heave from his chest. “Fine.”

With no further protest, they made their way to the hospital. Checking in was fast and before long, Sonic was being led to a room while Knuckles and Shadow waited in the designated area. They insisted Tails go back home and debrief the rest of their friends, and stay put- Shadow was far more forceful on those fronts. It had been a few hours since the young fox had gone, and Shadow all but deflated, sinking into his chair with a miserable expression across his face. Knuckles did not know how to approach the awkward silence at first, but tried with the first things that came to mind to say.

“You’re smart about… doctor stuff, right?” the echidna spoke, turning bright purple eyes on Shadow’s slumped figure.

Shadow seemed to take a moment to process the question, then snorted softly. “It wasn’t entirely the same thing being lab grown. But.. yes, I’m smart about doctor stuff. Why do you ask?”

Knuckles stammered a moment. “I just- How long do screenings take?”

Shadow grunted. “Depends on what you're being screened for. The urgency. The type of facility. But… unfortunately, Sonic has been through a lot. Who knows what they're going to find out today.”

Knuckles furrowed his brows. “Well, hopefully us by the end of the night. Just  _ something _ to help us with helping  _ him _ .”

Shadow just nodded. “He will need counselling. Maybe they’ll also suggest some sort of medication to help with the panic attacks. Although….hopefully they don’t become regular.”

The echidna grunted in reply, looking around briefly before spotting a small pamphlet on the table beside his seat. He reached over to grab it and start scanning over the words, frowning softly. He glanced to Shadow and then focused again on the pamphlet.

“Will...counselling help?” he asked, his voice unsure as it could possibly be.

“He- He’s still not over the six months he was captive,” Shadow said with hesitation throughout the statement. “He’s fought hard to keep it a secret from us. He did for a while.”

Knuckles took in his friend’s words for a long moment before heaving another deep sigh. “We really didn't notice. Not fast enough for it to matter, for us to do  _ something _ before this breaking point, at least.”

Shadow shrugged. “Day after tomorrow marks five weeks since the final battle. He didn't cut himself any slack, didn't give himself the choice to let his breaks show.”

Knuckles just shook his head, setting the pamphlet down again. “Will he ever be his old self again?”

The question seemed to make Shadow freeze, almost malfunction, and then quickly turn on Knuckles with brows furrowed together. He frowned deeply as he answered, “There isn’t- isn’t an  _ old _ self. He dealt with something- is  _ dealing _ with something, horrible, and he had to…  _ change _ to get past it and cope with it.”

Knuckles physically shifted away from Shadow, something the hedgehog failed to notice as he continued speaking.

“He won’t just  _ go back _ to being some kind of normal that you want him to be!” the hedgehog all but shouted. “Robotnik could have killed him. That messes a person up. You don’t just get  _ fixed! _ ”

The snap response left the pair of them in a long silence when Shadow stopped. Neither shifted during the quiet, Knuckles’ eyes wide and staring into Shadow’s face, which gradually seemed to gain recognition and realization at what could only be described as an outburst. The hedgehog was quick to turn away, shifting to put hands in lap and look down toward the floor.

“I know that’s not what you meant,” Shadow spoke quickly before Knuckles was able to. “I apologize.”

“No, I get it,” Knuckles was equally quick to respond. “I didn’t mean to… touch that nerve.”

Shadow scoffed quietly. “No one ever does.”

Silence encompassed the pair of them once again, thoughts racing in both of their heads. The digital clocks on the wall seemed to never change, and the analog clocks down the hall toward the sign in room of the office looked as though it did not shift, even as the seconds hand ticked silently around in circles. Knuckles tried to focus on it instead of the harsh pounding in his chest and the incessant pictures in his head of Sonic in every worst possible scenario.

Then the doors opened and Sonic’s physician stepped into the waiting room. Knuckles and Shadow both stood up instantly, eyes focused on the dark furred fox as he folded one arm over a clipboard that they couldn’t see the contents of.

“You two are here for Sonic, correct?” the taller Mobian asked, looking between the two of them for an answer.

“We are,” Knuckles answered. “He doesn’t- he doesn’t have parents, we’re- we’re kind of that.”

The doctor smiled gently and nodded. “Don’t worry, son, that’s not what I meant. We no longer need parents or adult guardians.”

“How is he, Doctor June?” Shadow pressed, glancing to his companion.

The fox took a deep breath, his tone even, “We ran several tests on his overall physical wellbeing, including bloodwork and X-rays. We even made sure to check older injuries to make sure they hadn’t been agitated or reactivated. Fortunately, the only thing he seems to have out of order in terms of physical health, is his excessive shedding. That, with all other means ruled out, is stress related.”

The two nodded, listening attentively, and the conversation beforehand started to weigh a little heavier on them as they prepared for what the doctor had to say next.

“However, we screened him for a few baseline mental health disorders and conditions, for depression and anxiety,” June continued. “He has severe cases of both. Now, we cannot confirm those are not mere  _ symptoms _ of other disorders until we observe and test further.”

Another shared look between Knuckles and Shadow. “What… do you mean exactly?” the echidna asked slowly.

June offered a slow shrug. “It could mean anything. For example- Post Traumatic Stress. Depression and anxiety are often just surface results of having that disorder. And, if what I was told about the events of his breakdown are completely true and not exaggerated, the likelihood of him having PTSD is high.”

Shadow’s breath caught in his throat. Of course he had already assumed something similar. A feeling not unlike guilt crawled up his chest, settling there with an icy grip as he set his jaw firmly. He didn’t know what to say, and nothing seemed sufficient enough to justify being said anyway.

“I have counselling referrals,” June spoke up again, pulling his clipboard out to take a few sheets of paper out of the metal pin holding them down. “With his permission, we already discussed some treatments, including the visitations and medicinal methods. He asked that I let you know.”

Shadow finally was able to speak again, words unsteady as he did, “An-and the treatments- will he have to meet a requirement? Or several requirements of some kind? Wh-what do we need to do for him?”

“No, not at all,” the fox assured. “We just need him to be present for the appointments. And, if he so wishes to have someone with him at said appointments, we have to get that person’s information, have them on file to contact, and they have to be present with him when he wants them to be.”

“We can do that,” Shadow answered quickly. “Is he… all right for us to see right now?”

“You can,” June said, stepping back to hold the door open for the two. “I can take you to see him right now.”

Without a word, Knuckles and Shadow followed, stepping into the long corridor with various meeting rooms along the walls. A few flags protruded from the doors, marked with “occupied” and labels of the sort. They only passed a few of those said rooms before reaching one marked with the same flag, June turning to open the door and let it swing in. Shadow slipped in first, where the sight of Sonic under white covers and a tired smile on the hedgehog’s face greeted him.

“You two look terrible,” Sonic greeted with a nod to June. “Thanks, doc.”

June waited for the two to step into the room before nodding back. “We’ll only be keeping you for a little bit longer, kiddo. If you need anything, just have your friends get a nurse.”

Sonic only waved as June excused himself quietly, closing the door behind himself. Looking between his friends as they moved to stand at his bedside, the blue hedgehog smiled still. Despite his best efforts, it was not enough to hide his exhaustion and the visible signs that told the tale of his day thus far. Even for Knuckles, it was clear, and he reached to clasp his friend’s hand between both of his own.

“I’m guessing they told you the stuff they told us,” Knuckles spoke, squeezing Sonic’s hand. “How are you feeling about it all?”

“Yeah, I’m just- Th-they told me about what’s up with my head,” Sonic answered as he shifted his gaze away from his friends’ faces. “He said he was gonna let you all in the loop. Did he?”

“He did,” Shadow replied, trying to tilt his head to meet Sonic’s gaze. “How… are you handling it?”

The blue hedgehog shrugged, only then looking up to passively meet Shadow’s eyes again. “If it fixes what’s wrong with me, I… Yeah, I’m fine with it.”

Knuckles narrowed one eye. “Now, I know I’m not the smartest one with doctor stuff, but I don’t think it’s like flipping a switch, or broken versus fixed.” A quick glance to Shadow was spared by the echidna, finding the red gaze focused on his face while he spoke.

Sonic hesitated but Shadow hummed in agreement. “It’s a process. It won’t just happen, and that’s perfectly all right.”

The statement, despite its intentions, brought a look of disappointment to Sonic’s face. He muttered a weak agreement then said nothing else. After a moment, Knuckles shook Sonic’s hand gently, bringing the hedgehog’s attention up to meet violet eyes that showed nothing but concern and affection.

“We’re going to work through this, all of this, together,” he said, his voice indicative of nothing but full honesty. “You never have to face anything alone. You know you’re not the only one who would do anything for friends, right? You know we love you just like you love us… right?”

Even as tears pricked Sonic’s eyes, Knuckles remained firm, nodding his head as he smiled gently. Sonic managed to smile back, giving a small laugh and then taking a deep breath. Using his other hand, he reached up to wipe away the wetness of his eyes, then looked around the room before nodding.

“I’m ready to bounce,” the hedgehog announced, his voice shaking slightly, but the chipper tone was never gone. “You think you guys can hang ‘til doc clears me for take off?”

“I’m not leaving until you can,” Shadow replied, nodding firmly with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Same here,” Knuckles chimed in, grinning and patting Sonic’s hand with an affectionate roughness.

Sonic’s eyes were alight at their words, and for a second, the pair of his friends could almost forget the anxiety they had in their chests. The three of them sat together in the room for only two hours longer, but the time flew with the three of them united. Chatter between them all was nearly endless, and as the time ticked on, they mostly stayed at Sonic’s bedside. Knuckles had left to grab snacks about an hour in, and at about the hour and a half mark, Sonic dozed off for a few minutes. Even then, peaceful was an accurate word to describe the remainder of their evening there.

They left the clinic with a few sheets of paper, tucked away as they walked down the city sidewalks back toward the base they currently called home. A quick call ahead from Shadow’s comm alerted the rest of the team of the evening’s events and that they were en route home. Knuckles glanced to Sonic and then locked their arms together, relieved when Sonic relaxed into the touch. The trio waled in tandem down the streets that were still lit up by sunlight; the height of summer had passed, but still at five thirty, the sun remained bright, and the warmth spilled over the friends as they made their way.

“How was everyone else?” Sonic asked after a gentle quiet had held them for some time. His eyes wandered, never stopping, and certainly not focusing on Shadow despite the question aimed at him.

“Worried,” Shadow answered honestly. “Tails the most obviously. While I was looking for you, Fera was with him. So I’m sure he was all right with her help.”

Sonic smiled softly. “She’s… she’s good with that.”

Shadow nodded, silent afterwards.

“Everyone’s okay, in light of today being… today,” Knuckles added in. “But, we’ll still all be okay.”

“Eventually,” Sonic murmured softly.

“Eventually is still good,” Shadow affirmed. “Eventually is a goal. It’s hope.”

Sonic hummed in agreement, eyes finally glancing down to focus on something, that being Shadow’s hand. Tightly balled into a fist as they walked along, near shaking as far as Sonic could tell, but firm just the same. With his friend’s words in mind, Sonic contemplated a moment’s thought, his own hand hanging at his hip beside Shadow’s. He stuck his pinky finger out, lightly bumping Shadow’s wrist, the movement almost regretted a second later when it seemed Shadow wasn’t going to respond.

Then, to Sonic’s full bodily felt relief, Shadow unwound his fist, opened his fingers and took Sonic’s hand into his own. With a light squeeze from the dark quilled hedgehog, Sonic’s shoulders felt a million times lighter.

The friends made their way home safe and sound.


	5. A Billion Little Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weeks of recovery fly by and drag on at the same time for Sonic. A month and a half between his initial panic attack that finally opened everyone's eyes, Sonic is doing his best with the help of his friends to find peace in every day, and build a steady foundation in a routine that was gradually but surely, leading him down the path of recovery.
> 
> This one's just a sort of game of catch up, Sonic's usual routine, and a bit more of seeing Fera on screen. Heads up: next week's chapter will be the last for a short bit of time! If I was a guessing man, I'd say it'll be about 2 weeks of a hiatus, but I'll know for sure next Saturday when I update again. As always, thanks so much for the support! Tell me what you think in comments! I love to read them.
> 
> <3

Missions and odd jobs here and there continued on around Sonic as he put more time into the process of healing that took a great deal more effort and dedication than he was expecting it to. Accompanying the medicine he would start taking, sessions with a counsellor started out and he would always with someone always with him, which was Knuckles. Instead of going for one appointment every week or two weeks, the hedgehog would see his appointed counsellor twice a week. The day following every appointment, if Sonic felt up to it, he would talk to his friends about it, keeping them up to speed on the things he wanted to improve and change. By the fourth appointment, he was receiving homework of sorts to write about those things- papers or packets to actively fill out and complete regarding his state, writing about goals, and so on.

With the third week of counselling, Sonic was feeling more confident. Knuckles still came with him, but talk of going alone had started- and was implemented the following week. That week saw more talk of the things that had built up the past year for Sonic, and between the tears and the comfort that went hand in hand, week five started to show the weight that had been gradually lifted off of Sonic’s shoulders.

Something Amy had blurted out— “ _ You just look so much happier. _ ”— made the blue hedgehog really take in what progress he had already made, despite the fact that he felt as if it was drudging on. His friends never let him sit in such a rut for long, though, and were consistently punctual to change or adjust anything in their schedules or homes to better suit Sonic’s healing process. Rooms were being remodelled already, but they were quick to prioritize giving their friend a space he could have all to himself. A bed, a window with a nice view of the surrounding city area, desks, and chests to keep his belongings, were the first few things to be put in the room.

A calendar was bought specially for Sonic to marks dates, events, and leave reminders for him. At that point, it was six weeks since Sonic’s initial appointment, and everyone had taken to writing things on the calendar just to write them. They started color coding their texts, something Amy influenced when using her special pink gel pen. It was, all around, a simple yet sweeter touch to the calendar.

The hedgehog rolled up in bed, blinking his eyes open as his body seemed creaked with a stiff night’s sleep. He reached up to rub his face, stifling a yawn as his eyes burned slightly from the previous night of tears. Thankfully, though, it was only a session of talking to his friends, something that surprised him when proving time and again that he still had plenty of crying left to do. At that point, the creeping embarrassment was still very much a threat, but it was nowhere near strong enough anymore to keep him from talking to the people that loved him.

He heaved himself out of bed, stretching and stifling a yawn before turning to his bedside table, eating a quick plain cracker and then taking his morning medication with the bottled water that always sat there. After throwing on socks and shoes, the hedgehog made his way over to the calendar hanging over a small makeshift vanity- which consisted of a simple desk and a small rectangle mirror propped up on it, against the wall- and grabbed a blue pen. He looked over the various boxes he had marked out over the last weeks, the weeks that were slowly building up into months, and he took a deep breath. With another  _ X _ scratched across the box, he paused to stare at the nearest appointment date, only a few days away with a reminder written in bright pink. A little smiley face and two scribbled roses floated around the words, and though he sighed softly, Sonic also smiled.

The hedgehog left his room after that, stepping out and finding himself in the main headquarters. The remodelling was nearly done, with a few rooms redone into bedrooms, including Sonic’s own- and the headquarters’ main room would mostly remain the same. Spare mattresses and bed frames were currently stacked against a wall across the room, soon to be moved into the other bedrooms made. Silver and Blaze of course did not live in the year of Sonic and his friends, and the Chaotix team had their own base as well. Shadow, Rouge, and Omega stayed or visited, usually fairly frequently, but they also did not consider it a permanent place to stay. Fera was the only member of the Resistance with living family that still lived in the headquarters anyway, feeling that her efforts were better focused there after all.

In the main room, Sonic was greeted by the sight of Amy and Rouge focusing and quietly discussing something on a smaller monitor. Sonic only tried for a brief moment to figure out what it was, only to abandon the effort and call out to them.

“Morning, ladies,” he spoke before holding back another yawn. “What’s on today’s activities list?”

The pair of them perked up, looking to Sonic with brightened eyes and equally wide smiles. Their task on the computer seemingly forgotten, Amy practically skipped over to her friend while he stretched his arms over his head. He was fully ready, however, for the warm hug Amy squeezed him into, the girl’s eyes practically glowing.

“Good morning!” she all but sang to the blue hog. “How did you sleep? Is it still pretty good?”

Sonic chuckled, bringing his arms back down and patting the top of Amy’s head with one gloved hand. “Staying solid. No nightmares either.”

“That’s wonderful, hon,” Rouge said with a smile, her eyes following Amy as the pair joined the bat by the monitor. “Amy had some calming music playing out here all night with the intent of helping you sleep better, too.”

Sonic couldn’t hide a grin as Amy’s face flushed, leaving her face pinker than it normally was. “I just thought the base could use a homey touch! Since it’s going to be our home now, too!!”

“It was  _ sweet _ , Amy,” Rouge fussed, reaching over to flick the hedgehog’s ear. As she turned back to focus more on the monitor, Rouge added, “There’s breakfast across the hall in the- well, the medical bay. Fera wanted to surprise us this morning.”

Sonic grinned, nodding before giving a wave to his friends. He turned on his heel and headed for the aforementioned area, stepping out first into a hallway through the heavy metal door that retracted as soon as he stepped in front of it. Directly across in the small brick wall hallway was the door into what was barely still a medical bay, scarcely equipped with basic first aid and a few no longer working machines. Instead, it was repurposed for various reasons- a study, a kitchen, and a library with a few packed shelves- which it was apparently being used for as all three when Sonic stepped into it.

To his left was a booth table where Fera herself sat, tinkering with something the hedgehog did not recognize, and a few books that seemed to be mechanics related. She glanced up at his entrance, red eyes sparkling with delight when she was greeted by her blue friend. The wolf had pushed away a half empty bowl of what looked to be thick syrup, oats, and cubes of tofu. Sonic’s stomach growled and he made a sharp turn back to find the source of the meal.

A stove had been moved in, and atop one of the eyes sat the dishes with the food in them. Sonic grabbed one of the bowls sitting nearby, prepared himself a serving, and sat down across from his friend as she continued working on whatever it was she had before her. He took a moment to watch, focusing on eating a few bites first as he observed- a thinner book with  _ Mechs For Dummies _ sat up on the table, propped open with some sort of jerry rigged pin to keep it stood up,, with a heavier more academic looking book laid down flat on the table. The pages held themselves open, with small text and descriptive images, though Sonic couldn’t make them out very well.

“What is it?” Sonic asked, his voice quiet as he glanced up to the wolf.

Fera grinned immediately, the quick flapping of her hand noticeable as she used her other to lift up the apparent project which Sonic realized then was a glove. Fera slipped it onto her right hand, wiggling her fingers to show off the thin lines of wire that ran to each finger tip, five trails leading into the center of the palm, and then down to the wrist where it circled Fera’s limb there. After hitting a button on the wrist, she lifted her hand, fingers touching her lips before stiffly bringing it back down to the table’s surface.

Sonic nearly jumped at the sound of an electronic voice coming from the glove itself, translating the simple signed word.

“ _ Good.” _

The hedgehog paused for a moment, opening his mouth only to close it again. Fera’s grin only widened, eyes twinkling as she lifted the gloved hand to be level with her temple, curling it into a fist before lifting only her index finger. Again, the electronic voice spoke, “ _ Understand _ .” before Fera put her hand down again. To both of their surprise that time, the glove once again translated the gesture as sign and spoke it aloud.

“ _ Damn.” _

There was a pause between the two before looking to one another, silent only a moment before bursting into loud laughter. Fera was quick to remove the glove, reaching down to flip the switch as she continued to try and fail at muffling her own laughing.

“You programmed a sign translator and made it understand the art of profanity,” Sonic remarked, tears in his eyes as he tried to stay intelligible through his own cackling. “Fera, that’s really impressive, and I couldn’t have been happier that this was the presentation I got of it.”

The wolf beamed, signing back, “I thought it would help more in a pinch, or if someone can’t see me but needs to hear me. And if I can make more, maybe help someone who is deaf when they’re not sure they are understood.”

Sonic listened closely, nodding along before scooping out another bite of his breakfast. “It’s super cool. Are you doing this all by yourself?”

“A personal project,” Fera replied, punctuating her response with a wink. “But if I can get somewhere with it, I’ll get some help. Especially to make more.”

Sonic nodded again, taking a few more bites before gradually becoming absent, idly stirring his utensil through the bowl while he watched Fera continue her work. Every now and again she would flip through the thicker book and stay on a new page, humming quietly as she worked at the physical exterior of the glove. Eventually Sonic did finish his breakfast, the silence between them comfortable as she kep at her work. However, she seemed to wrap up for that particular moment, pushing her workspace to the side before focusing on Sonic again, offering some guided practice on the hedgehog’s own fluency in sign. He was more than happy to do so, and they spent the rest of the early morning practicing, and simply enjoying each others’ company.


	6. Pull Me Into Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following up on a lead from weeks prior, Amy and Rouge prepare to follow an energy signature that promises no good. Unaware of their exact fears, Fera and Sonic agree to accompany them and help as needed, and with a celebration in Sunset Heights being held that evening, the four of them can enjoy themselves just a little bit. Hopefully.
> 
> Okay, so here's the gist! Lots of stuff changing and rearranging in my life these last couple of weeks- got a new job, new hours, new responsibilities, etc! Still going to be working on this fic behind the curtain, but for the next **three weeks** it'll be on hiatus as far as posting goes! You can find me for questions and updates and the like at https://twitter.com/yetthub !! See you guys in a bit :)

While Sonic sat with Fera, Rouge and Amy had gotten back to their task at hand in the main room. Rouge’s lips were set in a thin line as she tapped a blip on the computer screen, moving her fingertips apart to zoom in on the map. Somewhere in the city, Sunset Heights specifically, was an energy signature that their system was reading. It was weak, the blip on the screen reflecting just how miniscule it currently was. The pair of them took a moment to look it over, mouths set in hard lines before Rouge shook her head and sighed.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it looks… like a few things,” the bat murmured. “None of them are good.”

“But maybe it’s also nothing,” Amy said, her voice clearly hopeful but with underlying hints of not truly believing her own words. “It’s just an energy signature. It could be something left behind from the war, and it hasn’t fully died yet.”

Rouge looked to her friend with a softness in her eyes that she reserved for only those she truly cared for. “We can hope for the best. But we have to be ready for the worst.”

Amy took a moment to let the reality of the words sink in before looking back to the monitor. The younger of the two simply heaved a heavy breath, reaching up to log the signature into the database before closing it out entirely. She gave herself a moment to think, and maybe a moment to just breathe everything in as well- it hadn’t even been a full six months since the war was ended, and yet, here they were again, hairs on end at things they couldn’t possibly know the answers to in that moment.

“So, we really did have some kind of lead back when Sonic… Back, six weeks ago,” Amy adjusted softly, glancing to the bat beside her to find the same expression.

“There’s an event going on in the Heights,” Rouge said, reaching across the hedgehog to pull the map image back up. She tapped the area beside the signature still blinking softly on the screen, gesturing to the general downtown area that was about three miles away. “You’re with him today. I’m better suited to sneak around. You guys just stay close and keep your eyes peeled while I check it out.”

Amy nodded. “I’ll stay alert. You just be safe. That’s all I want you do, all right?”

Rouge chuckled, reaching over to very lightly tap the back of Amy’s arm. “You know how I work, darling. I’m not who I am now for choosing a less than safe method of operation, you know.”

“I know, I know,” she murmured, not looking at the screen as she once again, for the last time, closed the map with their mission logged and ready to be carried out.

With the time it had appeared logged in, as well as the exact coordinates and the current plan of action, the two of them stood in silence for what felt like a while, but was in fact only a minute or so.

“He hasn’t seen action since the final battle,” Amy mused aloud. “What if we have to fight, what if  _ he _ has to fight? What if it- what if it’s too much for him right now?”

Rouge sighed deeply, reaching over to instead put her arm around Amy’s shoulders, pulling her young friend into a side hug that lasted. With a gentle squeeze, Rouge spoke, “We will find a way through the things we face. It may be difficult, but… he’s a tough kid, Amy. You know that, possibly better than I do.”

Amy just frowned, leaning into the hug. “I just want us to be okay.”

“We will be,” Rouge said quickly, and firmly. “That, I can promise you.”

The moment following the embrace saw Sonic and Fera rejoining in the main room, the metal door creaking open as they stepped inside. Amy and Rouge quickly turned to focus on the two of them, expressions changing quickly to wide smiles, ignoring the quickened beating behind their chests.

“Did you like breakfast, Sonic?” Amy asked, beaming as she practically skipped across the room to meet them halfway in the center. “Fera got up way before Rouge and me, and she surprised us all with something to eat. Knuckles even got to enjoy some stuff before he headed out!”

“Really hit the spot,” Sonic replied, glancing over to his friend. “You  _ gotta _ show me how to cook sometime, we’ll just add that to the list of things you’re teaching me!”

Fera scrunched her nose at the hedgehog, reaching over to gently nudge the hedgehog’s arm, to which the younger Mobian laughed and jumped away, exaggerating the action while holding his hands up. The exchange was met with a rolling of Amy’s eyes, only to clasp her hands together and visibly perk up, eyes brighter as she leaned toward Sonic and Fera.

“So, get this,” the pink hedgehog began, her green eyes flicking between the two of her friends, “Rouge and I have some stuff to do in Sunset Heights this evening. It’ll probably end up lasting for a little while, and it’s  _ important _ and all, but!”

She stopped then to reach into the pocket of her dress, fishing out her pocket phone to tap it a few times, bringing it to life and after a moment, turning it to her friends. Sonic and Fera leaned forward just a bit, eyes scanning the title of the city update as smiles spread over their faces.

“ _ Restoration Celebration _ ,” Sonic read out loud, nodding his head. “Games, friends, and a party out on the town? Count me in!”

Fera nodded as well, pointing a thumb to herself decisively. With that unanimous agreement, Amy checked her phone one more time before pocketing it and then spreading her hands out.

“It’ll be chilly before the party’s over with,” the pink hedgehog stated, looking across all her friends. “We need to dress for the weather, but  _ what if _ we also get a little fun with it?”

Rouge seemed to light up at the suggestion. “Oh, I have  _ plenty  _ of dressy clothes for autumn,” she spoke, already scanning the others over as if mentally picking their outfits in that moment. “Fera, Sonic, come with me! Amy has a few things to get together for tonight, but meet us in storage room thirteen.”

With a quick goodbye and following departure, the trio of hedgehog, wolf, and bat headed to said storage unit, one of several that were still left standing outside the building they had made their base. Amy let her mind wander a moment as she gathered together her wrist communicator and her hammer that she quickly shrunk down to pocket size. She turned back to the monitor, hurriedly casting the image to the full sized one instead with thoughts of just how long the war had gone on, seeming to fester in her head. Green eyes almost seemed distant as she checked one final time, committing the exact street and layout to memory. Just to be cautious further, however, the girl copied down the aerial layout to her phone, making it interchangeable between both portable devices she carried.

After that, Amy retrieved the blueprint of the warehouse, the information on it, and made those files interchangeable between her devices as well. With everything she could think of in order, Amy looked up, staring at the ever blinking, still faint, red dot on the screen. The location symbol faded in and out, sending a small red ripple around the nearby area; it only stretched out a mile from the warehouse, and was enough of a distance away from the Sunset Heights festival that she felt safe in letting the event still carry on, even if things went south.

“Please,” the young girl whispered to herself, blinking her eyes clear before closing out the applications and turning to walk, hands shaking at her side, “please don’t let it happen again.”


	7. So Much Worth Fighting For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy, Sonic, Fera, and Rouge prepare for a mission tonight, the final of the four planning to stealthily check out a location and its strange energy signature, hoping to find the source. In the wake of a new world and a new way to live day to day, the trio make their way into town to provide close back up for Rouge, and find themselves reminiscing as they go.
> 
> ALL RIGHT! So! First off, i work mostly mornings so every update will start being later in the day EST. My set days off are Wednesday, so Weds will be what i change my update day to. Things are still a little slow, so I'm gonna ease back into this to make sure I'm giving the best I can and making sure the chapters are the most they can be, too! From here on, the update process will be bi weekly- it's more of an idea right now, but I'm also planning mini "episodes" to give some fun lore for the characters i couldn't really do that with, like Fera, Shadow, and maybe even a certain jackal squad.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Ihope this update finds my readers well :)

When Amy rejoined her friends, she walked into a scene of Rouge trying to explain the both color coordination and complimentary fits with a zipper jacket of a bright orange shade being handed over to Sonic as the bat spoke. Amy grinned as she just barely heard Sonic’s soft  _ ‘ooh _ ’, his green eyes wide as he pulled the top over his arms. As the pink hedgehog came up beside her friend, he stretched his arms out to test the fit, the edge of his knuckle swiping Amy’s nose before he could realize she was that close.

It was only a split second for Sonic to realize what he had done, Amy and Rouge erupting into bursts of laughter as Amy’s hands reflexively moved to her nose and Sonic turned to brace the girl as if he thought she would collapse.

“Amy, I’m so sorry!” he frantically spoke, trying to look through his friend’s fingers as she could only laugh.

“It’s okay, Sonic!” she assured him, small giggles still bubbling out of her as she let her hands down. “See? I’m fine!”

Sonic deflated, one ear flicking as he gently let go of the other hedgehog. “Geeze! I didn’t even hear you come up!”

“Well, if you’re fine, darling, I could use your help with these two,” Rouge spoke up, shaking her head as a light danced over her eyes.

Amy turned her focus to the request, bringing her hands together in excitement as she bounced on the toes of her boots. “Absolutely, what’s going on?”

Rouge chatted away as she started again, going back through the sizeable wardrobe tucked into the storage unit. Pushing aside various clothing of equally various colors, the bat drew out a pair of scarves, one an off white and one a nice shade of tan. Holding the two up to Amy’s view, Rouge looked over to Sonic.

“I’m thinking he could top that off with this tan scarf,” she spoke thoughtfully. “That orange is just divine on him, that much I am confident of.”

Amy hummed, brows drawing together as she brought a hand to her face to tap a finger against her cheek. “The off white one… Yes, it’ll look so good on him!”

Sonic’s ears perked up, paying closer attention as his friends looked to him. Rouge bundled the scarf into a wad of sleek fabric and then tossed it toward the hedgehog, who caught it with ease. Looking at it for a moment, Sonic lifted it over his head to let it rest loosely on his shoulders, pausing to take it in.

“It’s nice!” he said, craning his neck slightly to look down at it. “And I know it’ll be cool tonight, so this will keep me warm!!”

Rouge’s eyes lit up. “I’m so glad you think so, hon.”

Amy stepped closer to the wardrobe, helping Rouge at that point to continue going through until they found a few more articles of clothing that they turned around and held up on their hangers. They displayed a golden brown bomber jacket, the cream colored collar fluffed out wide. The pair of them turned to Fera, grinning at the wolf as her eyes seemed to just glow. She reached out to take the coat, pulling it over her white tank top, fangs showing as her lips widened in a smile.

“I love it,” Fera signed enthusiastically, her hands pulling tight against her chest as she practically bounced on her heels. “Thank you!”

With the two of them dressed appropriately, Rouge picked out warmer clothes for herself and Amy with ease, supplying Amy with a muted yellow jacket and herself with a sleek black leather coat. Her wings slipped through the slits made for them, the bat looking between her friends before clapping her hands together.

“Right then, it’s time you all get going- I’ll meet you later,” she said, nodding to them. “Everyone keep their communicators loud and ready,  _ just _ in case.”

“Would you not feel better with backup, Rouge?” Sonic inquired, hands fidgeting with the ends of his newly donned jacket.

“No, I need to sneak in and doing that alone will make my life  _ far _ easier,” she chuckled out, “but thank you just the same, hon. You guys go have some fun, now!”

On that note, the trio left Rouge to her own plans, heading from the base into the inner city on foot. Fera and Sonic practically skipped on either side of Amy, their hands clasped around either of the pink hedgehog’s, pulling her along with laughter on their lips. The girl could only be dragged along, matching their energy nonetheless, though she stumbled as she laughed with them.

Down the sidewalks they made their way, already seeing decorative things about- some streamers hung from street lights, Mobians making their own ways around with chatter of the celebration floating in the air. Overhead, the sun still hung in the sky, bright and shining over a partially cloudy sky. The bright blue hues of the day were a backdrop over a recovering skyline of their home, the warmth in their hearts far outmatching the growing cool air around them.

Workers were apparently still at their best, milling about to reconstruct buildings along the sidewalk. They called to one another as they carried out their jobs, their attention focused more on a few bigger buildings, but over the few months, they had also started fixing older structures that had been ruined by Robotnik’s forces. Overall, the progress was growing bigger with each day.

“So, where’d you guys go for that date a couple weeks ago?” Sonic asked, looking between his friends, apparently eager for the small talk.

“Oh, that was more into the city,” Amy replied, glancing to Fera. “You remember Fayda, she moved here from Metropolis?”

“Right, yeah,” Sonic murmured. “Is her family okay after the big move?”

“Yes, they’re actually- they opened a cafe!” Amy said, beaming across at the hedgehog.

“That’s where we went,” Fera explained further. “Her family is trying a cafe. A lot of people are going for broke, trying things they always wanted to.”

Sonic’s eyes seemed to light up at the words. His friends were more than relieved to see the expression, something that had once been so familiar, becoming something to be so deeply grateful over now. Amy launched right back into finding words, her hands squeezing tight around Sonic’s.

“The whole community’s been so different lately, like everything’s so much lighter,” she continued, eyes wandering forward back to the sun hanging overhead, casting the rays of warmth that would soon be cool. “Where the hospitals are changing the way they do things, the schools are going about things differently- the local libraries that are back in working shape are lending a lot of educational material  _ to  _ the schools to help them keep kids- and even adults- able to learn.”

Sonic whistled softly as the trip turned a corner, the street laid out before them even more packed with families and friends running about, laughter and smiles in abundance. It was like another burst of energy shot through the trio, their own laughter joining in once again with the crowds as they swung their arms to and fro while hurrying down the sidewalk.

“It feels like we’re all just a big family,” Sonic mused out loud, looking to Amy and then Fera as he gave his friend’s hand a gentle squeeze. His smile could only widen when he found it reflected on their faces.

“We are,” Fera replied, nodding her head firmly as she met the hedgehog’s gaze.

He nodded back after a moment, and they all turned their attention toward the growing crowd of Mobians, young and old, gathering with nothing but cheer to go around. When they were noticed, as distinct as they all were, several people flocked to them to greet and give their thanks. It wasn’t overwhelming, and those that did approach were polite and considerate- but nonetheless, Sonic’s hand slipped out of Amy’s and he found himself a few bodies away from his friends as he was spoken to.

Even with the intent being nothing short of kind, Sonic felt his heart start to race in his chest as he nodded and smiled back to the Mobians, feeling unable to do much else as his throat dried up. His vision seemed to tunnel until something gentle took back over his senses- an arm looping around his, locking them together as a familiar warmth pressed to his side. Sonic turned, blinking green eyes as he found Amy, looking up to him with a soft, knowing smile.

“Not going anywhere,” she spoke clearly, and despite the buzz of activity around them, her words were the most distinct out of any other sound. “Okay?

Sonic nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had no time to speak when he felt another arm loop around his opposite side, turning his head to find Fera mirroring Amy, the taller Mobian lifting her free hand to press index and thumb together, the rest of her fingers standing up as she echoed Amy’s reassurance. Sonic felt his shoulders relax, the sensation of weight sliding off of his frame nearly overwhelming.

“Okay,” the blue hedgehog confirmed, nodding as his confidence seemed to build back. “Let’s do this thing!”


	8. Another Domino Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rouge creeps around the warehouse to find answers, and gets more than she bargained for. With spider webs entangling the inside of the building, mentions of names, and only more questions that need answers, Rouge finds herself facing more than she expected.
> 
> Sorry for the late update! Work got a little crazy and I found myself a little more busy than expected. Even still, here's a nice little suspenseful chapter to make up for it! Next update will be on the 7th. If, however, I find it easier to start updating on Fridays instead of Wednesdays (both of which i am set to have off), i may start doing that! Either way, love to all, thanks for reading, have a good weekend!

Rouge made her way through the city mostly keeping to the shadows. By the time she reached the warehouse, the sun was reaching twilight hours. As she searched the surrounding areas the sun seemed to move fast with no regard to the world below, bringing the day’s hours father along. At that time, she knew her friends would be in the throngs of other citizens, celebrating, and when the cloudy sky was painted oranges and yellows, she found herself staring down the looming warehouse she had narrowed the parameters down to.

The bat hummed to herself as her wings carried her, otherwise silently, down an empty alley way that led to the warehouse’s front door. It was disconnected from the main streets, and she saw no other Mobians as her feet gently touched down, ears pricked and listening nonetheless. Aside from the hum of the nearby celebrating, Rouge detected no other noise, thus approaching the door. With another moment to confirm her privacy was assured, the bat pulled her lock picking tools out of her clothes and set to work.

Carefully working with the simple dead bolt was not hard, and she soon had gained entrance to the building’s floor level. She let the door slowly swing inward, the darkness flooding the inside with only a beam of twilight orange to cut through it. Rouge took a deep breath, stepping up as her wings carried her just a fraction above the floor, hovering in and letting the door close silently behind herself. She uttered a soft clicking noise as she was enveloped in darkness, and when the echolocation solidified the layout of the room, she made her way forth.

The room was full of both large and small crates, odd bundles of construction material laid about haphazardly with no seeming pattern. She did not trip on them or bump into any crates, though she had to shake cobwebs from her hands and pull them from her face with a start as she passed through the first doorway. Once inside the first hallway, it forked into two way, continuing forward and going right. A quick scan of the room revealed the continuing hallway stretched on for a bit longer before turned sharply left. With a quick consulting of her mini tracker, however, it was clear the straightforward path led further toward the energy signal that pulsed strong and true.

Despite the close space of the building, whether due to the dead silence inside of it or the thin structural design, Rouge would have sworn she could still hear the celebrating as it continued a few blocks away. The bat could not help a small smile to herself at the thought of her friends enjoying themselves- for once in so long, it felt- even in the face of what posed at least a slight risk. Between the stress of getting over the war and the things that had left scars, as well as the current process of still rebuilding, not stagnating, despite the pain- Rouge found herself more often than not relying on means of quick relief of the strain and anxiety. Nothing too serious, and certainly nothing to dull her senses when they were needed, but it was enough to bring her spirits down, a good deal lower than even she thought she could still be pushed to.

Before she let herself get too deep into feelings of that sort, Rouge refocused on the task at hand. She continued through the winding halls and rooms, relying on her echolocation and device to stay true to the course. It wasn’t long before she found a broken elevator shaft, the doors left half open with thick webbing crisscrossing the opening. She groaned at the idea of touching it, searching momentarily for a spare block of wood that she could use to clear it away, relieved to throw the object to the side with a clatter once the thick substance was clinging securely to it.

Her wings opened wide and she slipped into the enclosed space, taking a small step off into the thin air before soaring upward, closer apparently, to the energy signature that chimed on her device silently. She hummed to herself softly as she slowly ascended, still dodging heavy webs that only seemed to grow thicker the further she went. Brows knitting as she kept her eyes peeled, Rouge could only shudder at the thought of what was making these gradually increasing, very  _ new, _ web formations. Whether picking up on a sixth sense attuned to danger or simply knowing her way around, Rouge felt a very alien, very uncomfortable feeling hit her when reaching the fourth floor. A cold chill crept up her spine and she stopped, floating a moment as she glanced to her device, though she truly did not need to.

“This one,” she whispered, surprised to hear her own voice, unintentionally uttering the words verbally.

She made her way into the corridor, clicking a few more times to get a lay out before proceeding. With that done, she prepared herself for anything, fists tightly clutched just above her sides as the fur on her body stood up straight. As she was trying to calm herself, voices through the dark reached her ears, the bat tensing before sliding over to hug the wall. A minute passed as she stood stock still, ensuring she hadn't been discovered; another minute, their voices still speaking, but nothing happened and with no urgent in their words, Rouge continued once again. Down the hallway a few more paces, then Rouge lifted off the floor, wings carrying her down the hall and closer to the source of the voices.

“...are always on the move, looking! It’s  _ hard _ to operate under their radar!” came a frantic, shrill voice down the hallway. Rouge stopped then, listening closer to hear further, “You should try it since you get so  _ mad _ at me! It’s almost impossible!”

A sharp hiss came back, harsher and deeper than the first voice. Rouge tensed, slipping closer to the wall, pressing her body to the crate as the only physical defense she had in that moment. Her ears flicked as she listened, a gleaming reddish purple light spilling into the hallway from the doorway that sat only a few feet away from her own frame.

“You don’t get paid to snivel and moan,” cut the new voice. “We do this regardless, and if you get caught, your ties are forever cut from us. If that doesn’t motivate you to continue to operate under their radar, I’ll give you to them myself.”

She heard a whimper, no doubt the first voice, and unless a third person remained silent in the room, Rouge deduced there were only two. She flinched lower, nearly panicking as footsteps closely echoed into the hallway with her.

“What matters if you got here without being found or followed,” continued the second, nearly booming voice. “That should have been easy with tonight’s little celebration.”

“Of c-course boss,” replied the first, words trembling. “This- this is what I found. It’s— it’s real. The leech was telling the truth. This- the power- it means  _ he's _ still alive. Somewhere.”

Rouge’s fur couldn't stand any higher, yet it felt like it was; whoever the leech was, the name alone gave no good intentions right off the bat. Rouge swallowed hard, heart beating hard as she listened closely. The bat leaned a bit deeper into the crate’s side, her hands pressing into the top of the object to give her ample room to crane her neck a little further, listen a little closer-

The loud cracking sound is what made her panic initially- then she realized her hand was stuck, realized her hand was stuck  _ in the now broken crate.  _ Rouge couldn't muffle a gasp as panic intensified, the bat having little time to realize the light was suddenly gone and the voices whispering sharply. She wasted no time in breaking free and then jumping into flight, rushing down the hall the way she had come, heart pounding in her ears. It was nearly enough to drown out the footsteps practically echoing through the hallway behind her.

Rouge made sure he pursuers had not turned the corner and seen her before ducking into the first doorway she saw, scrambling to hide behind more crates. The bat held her breath, heart pounding still as she was met with more thick webbing. It clung to her back as she suppressed noises of disgust, simply bearing it while hiding.

She held her breath, watching the doorway wide eyed until the silhouettes of two Mobians passed. The sounds of steps and voices receded soon, and it was then that Rouge jumped to her feet once more, bolting for the window she noticed. Tearing away more webs, Rouge tried to activate her comm in the process. Her claws slipped under the window, struggling at first to start lifting, but she froze at the sudden sound of clattering behind her.

Something was coming.

The bat had to bite her tongue to refrain from swearing as she heaved the window frame up, the feeling of heavy unease culminating in that moment like an overwhelming assault on all her senses. Rouge leapt out the window in one more graceful motion, wings spreading to carry her out into the clear twilight air as the music of the nearby celebration washed over her. Hand raised, Rouge frantically opened the comm link to Amy, not daring to glance back to the warehouse.

Not until something thick and damp slammed into her back, wrapping around her back like claws as a shudder spread through her body. She screamed as she was jerked backwards, back to the warehouse, hurtling through the air faster than she could comprehend. She didn't even see if her friend had answered her call before screeching into the evening air:

“ _ Amy!!  _ Backup at warehouse!”

Her head slammed into the brick of the warehouse and Rouge fell unconscious.


	9. Chain Reaction In Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving her distress call, Amy, Fera, and Sonic race toward Rouge's last known location with backup on the way. To their horror, they are met by a twisted Mobian that holds Rouge captive, launching quickly into battle. With months between their last battle and this, several unforeseen reactions are had, and things grow far more serious.
> 
> Hello readers! I'm sorry this is a week late, it comes with more news of the sort! I seemed to have bitten off more than I could chew, taking on a bi weekly update schedule when my work schedule and life schedule after that, are both very hectic. I still have a lot of ideas for this fic and dearly want to continue the story... but I will unfortauntely have to change to an update-whenever-possible basis, and I'm very sorry for the scattered routine!! I hope you have enjoyed the first nine chapters of regular-ish posting, and continue to enjoy what I will post in the future.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!! Hope you're enjoying :) If any of my readers have a twitter, i have an info hub here @https://twitter.com/yetthub, where I will post information+talk to my readers if you seek me out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads up, there are slight descriptors of a spider species of Mobian!

Amidst the crowd of Mobians, chatter and music, festivities in full swing, Amy still clearly heard the incoming ping, hurrying to listen. Her stomach dropped at the sound, and in a moment, she could have frozen. She shook her panic quickly, a feeling she knew how to navigate well now, and turned to Sonic.

“The warehouse, now!” she cried, her voice shrill over the crowd.

The other hedgehog’s eyes widened and he reacted immediately. Disregarding all else, Sonic scooped Amy into his arms and shouted to Fera, nodding before speeding away through the throng of people that had gathered around them. Fera utilized her grapple, shooting to the nearest roof’s edge to pull herself out of the crowd and through the air, swinging overhead to follow her friends. The wolf heard Amy shout something into her own comm, only a split second later hearing it come through her own- a call for any nearby Resistance members to meet up at the warehouse’s address.

Knuckles’ frantic voice came back over the comm, but unintelligibly amidst the trio’s panic and rush. Nevertheless, the call was answered, and with knowing backup was on the way, they made the final race to the last place Rouge had been. With Sonic’s speed getting him there quicker, he set Amy down and they took in the sight of the warehouse backdropped by the setting sun with fading orange light.

Just as Fera landed beside them with a nod, they shifted to move in, only for the roof to burst with a loud crash, bringing their wide eyes up to focus on the tall figure that had shattered through the roof top area. The action sent debris flying, but whatever had erupted from the roof roared, the noise ripping through the air like its claws tearing through the walls atop the building.

Sonic watched, blood running cold as the looming Mobian ripped a chunk of the structure straight off, heaving the debris toward them with scary accuracy- and speed. His world slowed down, something that was not unusual for the hog, but he found his feet glued to the pavement as the hulking mass of brick and metal came flying toward not only himself but his friends. Yet, he could only watch.

The hedgehog flinched, reeling back when Amy flung herself forward, her hammer swinging around before whipping back through the air to collide with the chunk. A loud crack preceded the structural debris crumbling against the might of Amy’s weapon, Sonic blinking rapidly as the Mobian high above let out another fearsome roar.

“Sonic!” Amy called, looking over her shoulder to her friend, “Are you okay?!”

The hedgehog only had a moment to nod before Amy suddenly screamed, looking back up to the creature still slinging debris from above.

“They have Rouge!”

It was then that all three of them saw in a moment of horror that Rouge’s limp body was being clutched in on of what appeared to be four arms, her figure half silhouetted against the sunset while her captor raged on. The split second of frozen shock was punctuated by Fera launching into action, grappling herself to the building’s side and without a single thought otherwise, started scaling the warehouse. Landing feet first against the bricks of the structure, Fera quickly retracted her grapple and then shot it higher to pull herself, running up the side of the building in only seconds that way.

Sonic was right behind her, reaching the top only a moment before the wolf did. As she leapt over the still intact walls of the rooftop area, the Mobian turned their sights on them. It was then with a moment of mortification that the pair of them were able to really take in the sight of their apparent enemy.

A looming, almost twisted, distorted form of a spider Mobian, jagged mandibles protruding from the sides of their head that framed a mouth of unnaturally large fangs, what used to be pedipalps apparently equipped with sharpened caps of metal. Eight bright red eyes turned to glare, teeth flashing in a snarl as their four arms, clasped in metal bands that were spiked as well, raised with another chunk of debris.

As it was thrown, Fera and Sonic dove out of the way in opposite directions, the wolf bearing her teeth as she rolled back to her feet and shot her hook to latch onto the spider’s arm that held Rouge. As it snapped around the Mobian’s arm, digging into the skin, Fera was launched forward toward her friend, hand reaching out, only for her throat to slam into the open hand of a different arm. Fera’s wind was knocked out of her as the spider yanked her out of the air, world spinning as she was thrown several yards away, body tumbling momentarily before stopping just short of the hole in the roof left by the spider’s emergence from earlier. Fera wheezed as she shakily climbed back to her feet, blinking her vision clear as she looked up to find Sonic attacking the enemy’s leg directly beneath Rouge’s body. A perfectly placed spin dash brought the spider down to one knee, the lower arm dropping Rouge unceremoniously to the ground. The bat crumpled, motionless, and Fera shot her grapple once more, the prongs of it latching into the exposed skin of the spider’s hip.

The Mobian howled in pain, metal tearing into its flesh, as Fera was pulled forward along the grapple’s wire, sweeping in to scoop Rouge off of the ground and disengaging the grapple only a moment afterward to land a few feet away from the spider’s reach. Disregarding the battle at that point, Fera heaved Rouge’s body upright, one arm tucked under the bat’s shoulders to keep her head from hanging low.

Thick white webbing encompassed Rouge’s neck down to her hips, holding her arms captive as well. Fera ripped it away, growling softly with the effort, before quickly looking over her friend’s body for injuries. While Sonic held their enemy’s attention, Fera discovered what appeared to be a bite on Rouge’s throat- two puncture holes that still had dried blood, the skin around them increasingly brighter and redder. Panic spread like venom through Fera’s body as she shook Rouge desperately, earning no reaction despite the force she put into it.

Heart pounding in her chest, the wolf looked over to her friend, finding him still running circles around their enemy. Fera focused back on Rouge once more, taking several paces further away from the battle before gently lowering her friend to the ground, hands shaking as they gripped the bat’s motionless body. She was still alive, but for how long, Fera panicked- and she was able, all too easily, to visualize her friend dying at the hands of the monster they fought.

Because they had been too late.

Fera’s hands left Rouge’s body though her eyes did not, chest heaving with every breath until she stood to her feet and turned her bright red gaze slowly onto the fight nearby. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, claws tearing through the fabric on her fingertips to dig into her palms. Her teeth bared with a snarl, eyes flashing fiercely as one image fogged her mind over: the body of her enemy motionless on the ground, broken and battered, the same yellow that stained her grapple’s hooks staining the ground.

With newfound speed, Fera lunged forward, a scream tearing through her throat as she soared through the air. Before the spider could even react, a screaming wolf was suddenly latched onto their chest, claws tearing through skin with every frantic swipe. Fera’s own gloves tore in her mad fit of slashing, wreaking havoc and leaving gashes on her opponent’s torso as she screamed, the thick yellow blood flying through the air around them. In the midst of their combined screaming, Sonic overcame his shock and spurred himself into action once more, dealing multiple blows to the enemy’s legs until he had successfully driven the Mobian to their knees.

It was then that Shadow crested the side of the building with Amy in his arms, the pair of them assessing the situation in the split second that saw their arrival. Amy needed to only draw and extend her hammer with a shouted signal to Shadow who tossed her, sending his pink friend soaring up and toward the enemy Mobian. As she sailed from his arms toward her target, the sight of blood painting the ground and being slung into the air made Amy’s stomach turn but she bared her teeth and screamed, swinging her hammer back for a blow to the spider’s head.

Just before the weapon would successfully connect to cranium, the spider would sling all four hands to their chest, gripping Fera tightly before throwing her viciously straight for the very empty air beyond the building’s edge. The world for them all seemed to slow to a stop as Fera simply fell, shock leaving her figure prone while she sailed downward. The wind rushed past her body, eyes staring straight, blank, into the darkened sky above.


End file.
